Central Illinois Bed and Breakfast the Market Street Inn

Many years ago it was a tradition to Parade in one’s Easter finery along the Avenue and meet and greet and see and be seen by one and all.  Several inspired young ladies of fashion in Taylorville are recreating this tradition on Saturday, April 23 at 1:30 PM around the National Historic Registry Taylorville Square.  

Come and participate in our Easter Parade (Promenade_)

  Note!!!  This is not only for ladies of fashion but gentlemen as well.  Ladies, wear your Easter Bonnet and your finery and gentleman, wear your chapeau and fine suitings as well.  Don’t have a chapeau or a bonnet?  Go online and Google Easter Bonnet and Easter Parade and create your own.  What we want is participation.

The Taylorville Square is on the National Registry of Historic Places and has buildings dating back to the late 1800″s.  What a great place to meet and greet friends, both old and new.

Here are a couple of young ladies who have been hunting Easter Eggs in their beautiful attire.  Did I mention Easter Egg Hunt?  Yes, there will be an Easter Egg Hunt on the green of  the Courthouse Square sponsored by the Taylorville Kiwanis Club.  Eggs will contain various stuffings for the pleasure of the lucky who find them.  You might even expect a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Beginning at 1:30 PM is the Easter Promenade and remember, “This is not all about the girls!”  Men, come out and show your manhood by dressing up and parading with a finely dressed lady.  Or, perhaps, “Man’s Best Friend.”

 Of course, well behaved dogs are welcome, especially when attired in the finest of fashion.

After the Promenade, beginning at 2:30PM, there will be a wine tasting in the Shumway Room at One East Market Restaurant and Jazz Lounge.  Please come and enjoy.  Make a dinner reservation, go home and change and come back in your dancing  shoes to enjoy the sounds of The Big Shake Daddies.  You will be glad you did.

Easter is the Celebration of the Rebirth of Christ and what a great to do this.  Of course, folks from Miles Around and other well known cities are invited to join in and make this celebration the success it should be.  Happy Easter from the Market Street Inn Bed and Breakfast.

George Franklin Barber, Architect, sold plans of beautiful homes all over the United States and in several foreign nations.  Many of these plans came to fruition by those who purchased them.  We have been told that George Barber sold 78 plans in Illinois and 4 in the Central Illinois town of  Taylorville, IL.  Two of those in Taylorville, IL have been identified by one of the George Barber experts, Michael Alcorn.  There is another strong possibility for identification as well but the 4th seems to be elusive. 

One of these plans which was successfully built is a #143 and is located at 220 East Market Street  and has been turned into a bed and breakfast.  This beautiful home has been preserved very nicely over the years.  Oh, some modifications have been done to the exterior in the form of metal siding and, of course, bathrooms have been added to accommodate the 8 guest rooms and the innkeeper’s quarters plus a half bath for guest use near the dining room.

George Barber Plan #143

We hope you enjoy viewing this plan as drawn by George Franklin Barber and having been constructed per his specifications in Central Illinois.

The Williams Family, who traveled from all over the US and from Spain and Scotland to spend an early Christmas with each other at

our Central Illinois Inn. What fun to have 23 fun folks gathering in our commons areas to reacquaint     with one another, tell stories of happenings since seeing each other last, telling the patriarch that he is going to be a grandfather once again and playing with and loving on the little children. Patriarch Williams will be 89 in January 2011 and is sharp and spry as is Matriarch Williams.

As innkeepers, we found it much fun to watch, listen and attempt to anticipate the wants and needs of the various members of all ages.  At breakfast on Saturday, one of the sisters-in-law gave one of our innkeepers a test on the names of everyone at the table.  He passed the test.  

Every Saturday morning, the Clock Keeper of our Courthouse Clock will take anyone who is waiting about 8 AM at the South Door of the Christian County Courthouse up into the clocktower while he winds the 7 Day Clock which faces the 4 points of the compass. The Clock Keeper is also very intimate with the engineering and architecture of the Christian County Courthouse and the changes which have been made in the past couple of years. He tells folks about the restoration of the art glass dome, the false ceiling which was removed to expose it once again to view from below and the removal of the second floor center to provide a view from the first floor all the way up.

Christian County Illinois Courthouse

Restored Art Glass Dome

The Clock Keeper also tells folks about the restored Tern and Bittern fountain on the Southwest Lawn and the 4 year old, bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln and the “pig story” on the Northwest Lawn. The entire Williams Family enjoyed the small town hospitality which happens here in Taylorville in Central Illinois.

Just about all of the Williams Family

 We hope you come back someday, Williams Family.

This is just a simple note to wish each and everyone of you who may read this blog a Happy Thanksgiving from Central Illinois and the staff at our Springfield, IL and Decatur, IL area  inn.  We hope you are having or going to have one of the finest family and friend gatherings of your lifetime.  May you all be blessed throughout your lives.  Thank you to all of our guests past and future.

All the best to you,

Myrna & Joe Hauser

The weather has finally turned crispy in the Heart of Lincolnland, the leaves have all fallen and the smell of roasting turkey

Roast Turkey

 and pumpkin pies filter through our taste  memories. Yep, it is almost Thanksgiving in Taylorville,IL  and we invite you to visit. One East Market Restaurant and Jazz Lounge is but one of the fine restaurants located in Taylorville, IL which will

Thanksgiving Dinner

feature a Thanksgiving Dinner/Buffet. One East  is also having “Open Mic” on Thanksgiving evening along with $10 dinner specials. “Open Mic” is a gathering of musicians from the area who come to play their favorites for your listening pleasure. You might hear country, jazz, bluegrass, country swing, folk, blues or R&B without a cover charge and with drink specials from 7 PM to closing every Thrsday night, including Thanksgiving.   If it is a getaway you are looking for then this is the place to come and our fine Central Illinois inn is the place to stay. You can have your turkey and eat it too along with world class lodging and great music. Come and enjoy Central Illinois, Lincolnland, Christian County and Taylorville, IL near Springfield, IL and Decatur, IL.

Gift Certificates!  Christmas, the time of giving, is rapidly approaching and “what to buy?” is always a challenge. The Market Street Inn Bed and Breakfast is located a few minutes from both Springfield, IL and Decatur, IL with easy access to both but in the setting of our Central Illinois town of  Taylorville, IL. Our world class, Select Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America, inn offers amenities you might only expect to find in the expensive heavily touristed locations. It is no wonder that we have repeat guests from 37 foreign countries to our Lincolnland inn. If you are a fan of Abraham Lincoln, history of the middle 1800′s, would like to stand where Abraham Lincoln did when he was practicing law in the 8th Judicial Circuit, plan to visit Millikin University, want a pleasant weekend or weekday , then this is the place to be. Give a gift of relaxation, luxury and good food and dining with a Gift Certificate from the Market Street Inn in Taylorville, IL. Happy Holidays from Myrna & Joe Hauser and our fine staff!

Entry Foyer

Front Parlor

getaway

There is a small town in Central Illinois which has the opportunity for an internationally significant, Clean Coal Gassification Plant and an adjacent power plant. Clean Coal! NO Greenhouse Gasses realeased into the atmosphere! Approved by the Illinois Citizens Utility Board, the Illinois EPA and more, but…Party Politics is keeping this from being brought to a vote along with a lobby effort from jealous other producers of electricity. Please HELP us by emailing, writing or calling your Illinois District Representative and District Senator and ask them to demand a chance to vote on this important issue and to vote FOR it. It is clean, it will create in excess of 1500 temporary jobs and about 850 permanent jobs for Central Illinois. This project is called the Taylorville Energy Center and is being spearheaded by Tenaska. Taxpayer funds will not be used, this is all done via private investment. The Federal Government has approved a $417 million tax credit to foster this internationally worthwhile project. Please lend a hand before Thanksgiving 2010.

tandem jump

Skydiving is one of the extreme sports practiced here in Taylorville, IL. Mid-America Sport Parachute Club is located at TAZ (the official symbol for Taylorville Municipal Airport) and diving instruction is given if you are a novice, tandem jumps are available and if you have your license you can enjoy jumping where the US Army Team, the Golden Knights, practice when in the area.

Tandem with chute open

Our Central Illinois inn has guests from all over the world and some of them have learned to skydive while staying here. Practically everything is less expensive out here in the country and, I imagine, skydiving costs are no exception. Come out and jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Call for jump information at 217-824-JUMP.

Make your reservations at the Market Street Inn by going to www.marketstreetinn.com and click on “Check Availability” in the upper right corner or call 800-500-1466. 

Make the day last longer by viewing the sunset from waaaaayyyyyy up there.   After a tough day of falling through the air and going up again just

fall out again, come home to wine and fruit and cheese at our Springfield Area Inn, soak in your double whirlpool for a while and then go to dinner at one of the restaurants here.  Come back, have a great night of sleep filled rest and be ready for a sunrise jump tomorrow.   We are waiting to welcome you.

Every Thursday night, Antoine DeRocci sponsors “Open Mic” in the Shumway Room at One East Market Restaurant and Jazz Lounge.

Guitarist at Open Mic

Taylorville, Illinois has talent and, fortunately for the rest of us, some of the musically talented show up for some Blues, Rock, R&B, Pop, Folk, Bluegrass and Country to pick and grin and just have a good entertaining time. You should be there too. There is no cover and there are always beverage specials.

What a way to begin a long weekend in Central Illinois than by kicking it off with an unbelievable evening of entertainment from some of the Midwest’s Greatest Unknown Stars.  The fun begins at 7 PM but you should come early, enjoy dinner and stay for the music.

Duos and groups form as the evening goes on

 Come and stay at our Springfield Area Inn and we will get you up to speed for a fine mid-week or weekend of fun, food, entertainment and free golf in Central Illinois in Taylorville.

Who thinks about Persimmons today? Probably not a lot of folks but the Persimmon Fest in Central Illinois at the Christian County Historical Museum sure does draw a crowd from all over the country and then some. Actually the persimmon is a sought after fruit in Asian Countries.

The Lovely and Versitile Persimmon

Persimmons are not ready to eat, at least by local standards, before they have undergone a “killing frost” and we have had one now so the persimmon harvest is coming in, they are being washed, pitted and mashed into a pulp for use in all sorts of tasty dishes including puddings, pies, steamed persimmon pudding, spiced persimmon cake and other baked goods.  Darleen Wilson is making 24 persimmon pecan pies for this event.  Abraham Lincoln would have loved Darleen’s pies.

Persimmon Bundt with Walnuts

Persimmon Bundt with Walnuts Recipe